Valentine's Day Celebrations
For the past two days, we've been celebrating Valentines Day with friends. I always look forward to these two annual parties because it's a good reason to get out in the middle of our freezing cold Ohio winter and socialize! Not that we don't socialize at other times during the winter, but I'm finding more and more that I like to stay home and keep warm more than anything when snow is covering the ground.
Yesterday my friend Julie and her son Joey hosted their 4th annual Valentine's Day Party. We've been attending since the very first year and it's hard to believe that this year was our 4th one! Julie provides pizza and then assigns everyone else to bring something for a potluck lunch and then we also bring valentine boxes for the kids and valentines / treats for our children to put into the others' boxes. Finally, there's always games, crafts and for the past three years, entertainment from my friend Jen who is a professional storyteller (the kids love her!).
As soon as we arrived at the party my girls acted like they hadn't been fed in weeks (haha) and chowed down on some pizza, cheese and crackers, strawberries, apples and other goodies...
A few minutes after everyone was done eating lunch, Sienna's little friend Ryan presented her with a special valentine present--a disney princess lipgloss set! His mom said he wanted to give Sienna something more than the other kids since she's his "girlfriend." These two have known one another since they had class together at The Little Gym last year and according to Sienna, Ryan is her "boyfriend" but she's not going to marry him. Ooooookay...just as long as we aren't getting serious anytime soon, I suppose Ryan can pursue Sienna. Afterall, it did take quite a bit of persuading just to get them to stand next to eachother for this photo:
After the picture, Sienna ripped into that lipgloss and hasn't stopped putting it on over and over and over again except for when she's asleep. She even applied and reapplied her gloss about 80 times this morning at my OB appointment. Gotta keep those lips looking pretty I guess!
As I mentioned above, my friend Jen is a professional storyteller (we actually had her at Jaden's 3rd birthday--a pirate party and she did GREAT). She uses puppets in her interactive tales as well as songs, rhymes, games and other activities. The kids can't take their eyes off of her when she's performing, which is wonderful for us mamas who yesterday wanted to socialize and eat for a few minutes without interruption :)
After the stories and games were finished, we distributed our valentines. Each of the moms really goes all out at this party and both Jaden and Sienna came home with overflowing boxes of goodies! You can see Jaden in the photo below passing out her treat bags. She and Sienna each made bags for their friends.
The party wrapped up with making a bookmark craft, playing another game and then a few of us moms taking photos of the kids. They were being so cute posing and everything. Here is Jaden with Joey, whose mom always plans the party:
And here are my girls with some distant cousins from my mom's side of the family. We actually met this family through the party host and then later discovered the familial ties. The girls are just about exactly the same age and they always have fun together. I always enjoy their mom SO much because her sarcasm is hilarious!
Last night we got home from that party beyond exhausted, put in a good night of sleep and got ready to do it all over again today :)
Today's party was through our community preschool parents group. Each year they plan something different for Valentine's Day and I loved what we did today. We were asked to make some valentines and bring candy to an assisted living facility in our area to pass out to the residents. Then the facility provided us a room where we could eat lunch catered by chick-fil-a, decorate and eat some sugar cookies and do a few crafts. All of the children LOVED handing out cards and candy to the elderly people. And in exchange, the residents enjoyed having our children around for a few hours. You can tell how lonely and quiet an assisted living place can be and while I'm sure the residents love the tranquil atmosphere sometimes, they really appreciate visitors!
Each resident's eyes lit up when they were handed some candy with a bright-eyed "Happy Valentine's Day" wish. I think my girls enjoyed handing out the candy even more than receiving candy--it was wonderful to watch!
Since it was a chick-fil-a lunch (nuggets and fruit!), of course Jaden and Sienna gobbled it up within 5 minutes flat. Then they were ready to delve into the activities set up for them. Sienna worked very hard on decorating a cookie, while Jaden created a little heart-shaped masterpiece that we can use in our Valentine decor.
They both also decorated their own treat bags to put their crafts, cookies and gifts into. It was another great day celebrating with happy hearts!
Tonight, we're all pretty exhausted, but I did manage to persuade Jaden and Sienna to hop into a photo with me before bed. Here are my two (and a half--haha) littlest valentines--I love them so much!
We have a fun-filled weekend ahead, and hopefully among the fun we'll get a few more curtains hung and another box or two unpacked. We feel so close to being fully settled here, yet so far away. I hope we're organized before baby girl #3 arrives in 7 or so weeks!!
Yesterday my friend Julie and her son Joey hosted their 4th annual Valentine's Day Party. We've been attending since the very first year and it's hard to believe that this year was our 4th one! Julie provides pizza and then assigns everyone else to bring something for a potluck lunch and then we also bring valentine boxes for the kids and valentines / treats for our children to put into the others' boxes. Finally, there's always games, crafts and for the past three years, entertainment from my friend Jen who is a professional storyteller (the kids love her!).
As soon as we arrived at the party my girls acted like they hadn't been fed in weeks (haha) and chowed down on some pizza, cheese and crackers, strawberries, apples and other goodies...
A few minutes after everyone was done eating lunch, Sienna's little friend Ryan presented her with a special valentine present--a disney princess lipgloss set! His mom said he wanted to give Sienna something more than the other kids since she's his "girlfriend." These two have known one another since they had class together at The Little Gym last year and according to Sienna, Ryan is her "boyfriend" but she's not going to marry him. Ooooookay...just as long as we aren't getting serious anytime soon, I suppose Ryan can pursue Sienna. Afterall, it did take quite a bit of persuading just to get them to stand next to eachother for this photo:
After the picture, Sienna ripped into that lipgloss and hasn't stopped putting it on over and over and over again except for when she's asleep. She even applied and reapplied her gloss about 80 times this morning at my OB appointment. Gotta keep those lips looking pretty I guess!
As I mentioned above, my friend Jen is a professional storyteller (we actually had her at Jaden's 3rd birthday--a pirate party and she did GREAT). She uses puppets in her interactive tales as well as songs, rhymes, games and other activities. The kids can't take their eyes off of her when she's performing, which is wonderful for us mamas who yesterday wanted to socialize and eat for a few minutes without interruption :)
After the stories and games were finished, we distributed our valentines. Each of the moms really goes all out at this party and both Jaden and Sienna came home with overflowing boxes of goodies! You can see Jaden in the photo below passing out her treat bags. She and Sienna each made bags for their friends.
The party wrapped up with making a bookmark craft, playing another game and then a few of us moms taking photos of the kids. They were being so cute posing and everything. Here is Jaden with Joey, whose mom always plans the party:
And here are my girls with some distant cousins from my mom's side of the family. We actually met this family through the party host and then later discovered the familial ties. The girls are just about exactly the same age and they always have fun together. I always enjoy their mom SO much because her sarcasm is hilarious! 
Last night we got home from that party beyond exhausted, put in a good night of sleep and got ready to do it all over again today :)Today's party was through our community preschool parents group. Each year they plan something different for Valentine's Day and I loved what we did today. We were asked to make some valentines and bring candy to an assisted living facility in our area to pass out to the residents. Then the facility provided us a room where we could eat lunch catered by chick-fil-a, decorate and eat some sugar cookies and do a few crafts. All of the children LOVED handing out cards and candy to the elderly people. And in exchange, the residents enjoyed having our children around for a few hours. You can tell how lonely and quiet an assisted living place can be and while I'm sure the residents love the tranquil atmosphere sometimes, they really appreciate visitors!
Each resident's eyes lit up when they were handed some candy with a bright-eyed "Happy Valentine's Day" wish. I think my girls enjoyed handing out the candy even more than receiving candy--it was wonderful to watch!Since it was a chick-fil-a lunch (nuggets and fruit!), of course Jaden and Sienna gobbled it up within 5 minutes flat. Then they were ready to delve into the activities set up for them. Sienna worked very hard on decorating a cookie, while Jaden created a little heart-shaped masterpiece that we can use in our Valentine decor.
They both also decorated their own treat bags to put their crafts, cookies and gifts into. It was another great day celebrating with happy hearts!Tonight, we're all pretty exhausted, but I did manage to persuade Jaden and Sienna to hop into a photo with me before bed. Here are my two (and a half--haha) littlest valentines--I love them so much!
We have a fun-filled weekend ahead, and hopefully among the fun we'll get a few more curtains hung and another box or two unpacked. We feel so close to being fully settled here, yet so far away. I hope we're organized before baby girl #3 arrives in 7 or so weeks!!
Comments